Tis the Season
by Samuraiko
Summary: Johanna's first Christmas with the AX is rapidly approaching. And while the Vatican is not normally the scene of holiday cheer, with a little help from the other AX members, the sassy Sister decides to ring in a holly, jolly season as only she can!


_Note: It's the holidays, and I've been tinkering with this one in my head for a few days now. Leave it to the pagan nun to turn the Vatican on its head during the festive season!_

_It's sappy... but it's fun. So deal with it!_

* * *

**TIS THE SEASON**

Caterina was busy with her latest stack of paperwork when she suddenly heard a knock on her office door.

"Yes?"

Sister Johanna poked her head around the door. "Hi, are you busy?"

The Cardinal shrugged but smiled. "When am I not busy, Sister? It's not important for the moment, though. What can I do for you?"

The auburn-haired nun strolled across the office to stand in front of Caterina's desk. "I was wondering what all the AX does during Christmas time."

"Does?" Caterina repeated, arching pale eyebrows and studying Johanna. "Business as usual. The Vatican's diplomatic services do not stop just because it's a holiday."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, do you guys celebrate or anything? You know, the whole tree, gift giving, peace on earth good will toward men sort of deal?"

Caterina was hard pressed to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up at Johanna's description of holiday festivities.

"No, nothing like that, I'm afraid. Christmas is a holy time, Sister. We do _not_ indulge in frivolity."

"_What_?!" Johanna yelped in surprise, and Caterina frowned at her lack of decorum. "No gifts? No tree? What kind of Christmas is _that_?"

"We spend Christmas Eve at Mass, and the same for Christmas Day. This IS the Vatican, after all, Johanna."

The Sister waved one hand in dismissal. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think I figured that out after living here for almost a year. But no holiday stuff? Come on, Eminence, that is the height of boredom. This is _supposed_ to be a time of celebration, of joy, of hope and peace and light!"

"I thought you were the one who so loudly proclaimed she wasn't Catholic," Caterina said dryly.

"I'm not," Johanna replied. "But even pagans celebrate Yule, and just where do you Catholics think you got the whole Christmas gig to begin with? Oh, come on, Eminence, let's celebrate just once. Please?"

"What _exactly_ did you have in mind?" Caterina asked slowly, not entirely certain she even wanted to know. Given Johanna's boundless enthusiasm, she suspected that Johanna could turn the Vatican upside-down with only the slightest encouragement.

Johanna began explaining what she had in mind, and while Caterina just KNEW that Francesco would have a conniption fit if he found out about any of this, Johanna's eagerness and enthusiasm was infectious, and so when Johanna left her office half an hour later to find the other AX members, Caterina was quietly chuckling to herself.

* * *

_The following day..._

"Esther! Hey, Esther!"

Sister Esther looked up to see Johanna come striding into the AX library where she was studying.

"Sister Johanna! Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? No. Listen, I need your help with something. Can you sing soprano?" Before Esther could get another word out, Johanna had taken her by the hand and was dragging her out of the room.

* * *

"Professor?"

William carefully extracted himself from his latest mechanical invention.

"Ah, Sister Johanna. What brings you here this morning?"

"I need your help with something." Johanna coughed and waved her hand in front of her face to dispel the pipe smoke. "And you can leave that here, I need a baritone that doesn't smoke."

"What? But what for-" He got no further before Johanna caught him by the elbow and pulled him out of his office.

* * *

"Abel! Hello?"

Abel nearly choked on his stolen doughnut when Johanna stuck her head in his room.

"Oh, good, you're here!"

"S-S-Sister Johanna," he stammered once he'd managed to swallow his food. "What are you doing here?"

"I need a tenor," she announced cheerfully. "Come on, you can finish your doughnut on the way."

* * *

A few minutes later, the foursome left the Vatican and began making their way across St. Peter's square, Esther in her AX habit, Johanna and the priests in their robes, and all of them bundled up against the cold.

"Are you _sure_ about this, Sister?" Esther asked doubtfully as they arrived at the base of the Spanish Steps. She looked down at the small basket she was holding and frowned.

"I'm sure, and trust me, we'll be fine," Johanna said with confidence. They took up a position at the base of the stairs, the basket at their feet. Esther and the priests looked down at the basket, then over at Johanna, who closed her eyes for a moment and drew in a deep breath. Then she let it out, opened her eyes, and began to sing.

As she began the carol, "The First Noel," the passersby turned to look in curiosity. Once she got over her initial shock, Esther joined in, then Abel and William, their voices blending in surprising harmony. By the time they were finished, several people were standing around listening, and a few had tossed some money into the basket.

"Okay, Esther, you choose something," Johanna whispered.

"What?" the red-haired nun hissed back in surprise. "But I-"

"You have a lovely voice, use it."

Blushing almost as red as her hair, Esther started singing, "O Holy Night," and Johanna's mouth fell open at the younger Sister's talent before she remembered that she was supposed to be accompanying her. It quickly became evident that the crowd liked Esther's singing, because the basket was quickly filling with change.

Abel and William led next with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," then Johanna and Abel led with the "Carol of the Bells." To the foursome's considerable surprise, a group of wandering street musicians joined in with their instruments, and soon there was a sizable crowd gathered at the base of the steps.

For almost two hours, Johanna and the others sang carol after carol, until their basket was almost overflowing. Johanna had just finished giving the others a smug look when she happened to look up, and went absolutely ashen.

Cardinal Francesco, accompanied by Brother Petros, Sister Paula, and several other Inquisition guards, was standing at the edge of the crowd, disapproval etched all over his face.

Abel and William also saw him, and both men tensed, wondering if the Cardinal was going to do something impolitic in front of the crowd.

Johanna, however, didn't give him a chance.

"Cardinal de Medici," she called out over the noise of the crowd. "Thank you for agreeing to come today to offer a benediction on behalf of his Holiness!"

Esther turned to Johanna in surprise. "He agreed to do what?" Then she saw the other nun wink, and she realized that Johanna was forcing Francesco's hand.

Francesco practically growled in frustration, the picture of divine retribution rather than holy blessing, but as he looked at the crowd's expectant faces, he lifted his hands in benediction.

"On behalf of his Holiness, Pope Alessandro XVIII, let us offer our prayers and our thanks to the Lord during this time of... celebration."

The crowd bowed their heads and crossed themselves, murmuring their appreciation of the gesture, which meant that they missed the look of pure hatred that Francesco shot at Johanna, while the nun merely grinned.

"He's going to kill you," Abel hissed at Johanna, who shrugged with a confidence she didn't entirely feel.

"Been there, done that."

* * *

Once the caroling session was over, Johanna and the other AX members returned to the Vatican. Johanna was practically glowing from the success out of their outing, and even William seemed to have enjoyed himself.

"Honestly, Esther, I'd had no idea you had such a lovely voice!" Johanna was saying as they entered the main hall of the AX's branch.

Esther blushed at the other Sister's praise. "It's kind of you to say so."

"I gather your expedition was a successful one, then?" they heard, and the four turned to see Caterina, followed closely by Father Havel, approaching from down the hall, and the four bowed in response.

"Yes, I'd say so," Johanna said smugly.

"And what _exactly_ did you do to irritate Cardinal Francesco?" Vaclav asked curiously, but all Johanna did was look up at the ceiling, put on a look of supreme innocence, and began to whistle.

Abel quietly chuckled. "His Eminence was going to ruin all the goodwill that we had built, so Johanna preemptively cut him off."

"I heard you were collecting funds?" Caterina asked, and Johanna nodded. "What did you do with the money?"

"Father Nightroad pointed out an orphanage that was near the Spanish Steps where we were singing," Esther explained. "So we stopped in there and gave them the money on behalf of his Holiness."

Caterina started in surprise. "What?"

Johanna smiled. "Something to the effect of, since the Pope is so young, he wanted to ensure that other children had the chance to celebrate the holidays."

For a long time, Caterina didn't say a word, and Johanna's smile slowly faded into an expression of doubt.

"Did... I do something wrong?"

Abruptly the Cardinal smiled, and for a second, Johanna would have sworn that she'd seen tears in the other woman's eyes. "No... no, I think my brother would have very much wished that he could have been there himself for that. Perhaps next year."

"Yeah. Anyway, did my tree get here?"

Vaclav nodded. "Yes, it's in the AX library. It's not very large, but I think it will do."

"Cool!" Johanna's eyes were bright with excitement.

"A tree?" Esther asked, looking puzzled. "You mean, an actual Christmas tree?"

"Yeah," Johanna agreed. "Come on, let's round up everyone else and decorate this thing!"

* * *

As Christmas drew closer, Caterina had to admit that she was actually enjoying herself. It was odd, she thought, how it had become all too easy to forget how to celebrate life. But then she would see Johanna hanging tinsel and garlands everywhere she could reach (or explaining to Tres for the umpteenth time why decorations weren't supposed to be hung with military precision), or William making new ornaments for the tree, or Abel hanging candy canes (when he wasn't sneaking one in his mouth), and she had to admit that it really did, for once, feel like Christmas.

Given how big of a hit their first caroling session was, the AX members repeated the event several times over the next few days - once in front of the Trevi fountain, once in St. Peter's Square, once near the Colisseum, and then a repeat at the Spanish Steps. This time, Leon, Kate, and Vaclav came along, and the priests and nuns drew such a crowd that people were standing on the Steps to be able to see. After each session, they would then visit a different orphanage in Rome and present them with the money on behalf of the Pope.

* * *

The subject of presents came up fairly early on, considering that most of the AX members had taken vows of poverty. Unfortunately, this meant that funds to purchase gifts was extremely limited. However, Johanna reassured them that it was the spirit of the season that was important, and so they still managed to find ways to pick up little trinkets or gifts for each other and carefully wrap them to place underneath the Christmas tree.

Abel, however, had his hands full convincing Johanna not to 'accidentally' route some of the Inquisition's funding elsewhere so that the AX members could celebrate Christmas.

"Pulling Francesco's tail in public once was bad enough," he cautioned her. "Do it again and you're just asking for trouble."

"But he'd never know!" she protested, but eventually she subsided in the face of his glare. "All right, all right. I'll be good."

"Thank you, Sister."

"Do you think if Cardinal Francesco found a lump of coal on his desk, he'd know it was me?" she mused a few moments later, and got another glare for that. "Sorry."

* * *

Christmas Eve finally arrived, and the AX members gathered in the library before the midnight mass to exchange their little gifts and have a quiet celebration.

"I must say, Johanna, when you first mentioned celebrating the holidays like this, I had my doubts," Caterina admitted, sipping at her tea.

"A lot of people have that reaction to most of my ideas," Johanna sighed with a shrug, but then she grinned. "But it turned out well in the end, don't you think?"

"Indeed," Vaclav agreed. "The opinion of Rome's citizens about the Vatican has taken a remarkable upswing during this time. Perhaps we should have you working in our PR department."

Johanna laughed at that, nearly choking on her eggnog. "Nah, I like where I am now."

"I'd no idea Christmas could be like this," Esther said with wide eyes as she unwrapped her small collection of presents. "In Ishtvan, there just... there just wasn't really any _real_ reason to celebrate."

"I can imagine," Leon remarked. "And prison's hardly the most festive place, either."

Standing near Caterina, Kate gave a soft smile of her own. "I'd almost forgotten what it was like... Christmas in Albion's not that different than what we did this year."

William nodded his agreement. "Indeed. I must say, this made a very refreshing change."

Suddenly they heard the bells begin tolling the hour, and Caterina stood up. "Services will begin soon. I'll see you all there."

As the others bowed, she left, and one by one the other AX members followed until only Johanna and Abel were left in the library.

"Did you have fun?" he asked her softly as they got up to leave as well.

"Yes." Her smile was soft and slightly sad, but genuine all the same. "I'm just glad not to be spending Christmas alone."

Abel went quiet at that, stopping in the doorway. "Yes... yes, I can understand that."

"Did you like your gift?" she asked, her eyes slightly anxious as they met his, and Abel looked down at the book he held - a collection of poems that she'd found in a bookstore.

"Very much," he assured her with a smile of his own. "I only wish I could have gotten you something, but..."

It was a well-known fact that Abel Nightroad was perpetually broke, and Johanna chuckled.

"It's okay, I know that money's always been a problem for you."

Then she lifted her eyes above his head, and her cheeks went slightly pink.

"What is it?" he asked in curiosity, since it was rare to see Johanna blush like that.

She pointed over their heads. "One other little Christmas tradition. I, um, I forgot that I shouldn't have hung it up here, this being the Vatican and all."

Abel glanced up and saw that hanging over the door was a spring of mistletoe. For a long time, he stared at it, his expression unreadable, then he looked down at Johanna.

Then, slowly, Abel bent his head as Johanna rose up on her toes, and their lips met.

After several moments, Abel lifted his head a couple of inches so that he could still feel her breath on his cheek, and blue eyes stared into hazel.

"Merry Christmas, Johanna," he murmured.

"Merry Christmas, Abel," she whispered in awe, one hand going to her lips.

Then he straightened fully and offered her his arm. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah," she breathed, taking his arm as he led her down the hallway.

As they disappeared into the darkness, heading toward the cathedral, the hallway echoed with the sound of Johanna's voice, a delighted shout filled with barely contained laughter.

"GOD BLESS US ALL, EVERY ONE!"


End file.
